Passive Time-Keeping Can Pay Big Dividends
When it comes to billing and time-keeping, it pays to be passive.
With active time-tracking, you record your time after you complete the activity. The method of recordation can vary: from billing software to a yellow legal pad. The point is that a second step – actually entering the time – is required.
With passive time-tracking, there is no second step. The timekeeping function works in the background, passively tracking and timing all activities performed on the computer, device or application.
A recent study from MyCase found that lawyers who use passive time-tracking tools capture significantly more time than lawyers who don’t.
“The data collected and analyzed showed that lawyers who used a passive time tracking tool billed an extra 64 hours,” writes attorney and tech expert Nicole Black in NY Daily Record. “If you assume a $350 per hour billing rate, that amounts to total additional billable time worth $202,882,750 in 2022 for the lawyers who were analyzed. This means that on average, lawyers who used this feature invoiced an additional $22,425 last year!”
Read more here.
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Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5: Fees
(a) A lawyer shall not make an agreement for, charge, or collect an illegal or clearly excessive fee or charge or collect a clearly excessive amount for expenses. The factors to be considered in determining whether a fee is clearly excessive include the following:
(1) the time and labor required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved, and the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly;
(2) the likelihood, if apparent to the client, that the acceptance of the particular employment will preclude other employment by the lawyer;
(3) the fee customarily charged in the locality for similar legal services;
(4) the amount involved and the results obtained;
(5) the time limitations imposed by the client or by the circumstances;
(6) the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client;
(7) the experience, reputation, and ability of the lawyer or lawyers performing the services; and
(8) whether the fee is fixed or contingent.
(b) When the lawyer has not regularly represented the client, the scope of the representation and the basis or rate of the fee and expenses for which the client will be responsible shall be communicated to the client, preferably in writing, before or within a reasonable time after commencing the representation.
(c) A fee may be contingent on the outcome of the matter for which the service is rendered, except in a matter in which a contingent fee is prohibited by paragraph (d) or other law. A contingent fee agreement shall be in a writing signed by the client and shall state the method by which the fee is to be determined, including the percentage or percentages that shall accrue to the lawyer in the event of settlement, trial or appeal; litigation and other expenses to be deducted from the recovery; and whether such expenses are to be deducted before or after the contingent fee is calculated. The agreement must clearly notify the client of any expenses for which the client will be liable whether or not the client is the prevailing party. Upon conclusion of a contingent fee matter, the lawyer shall provide the client with a written statement stating the outcome of the matter and, if there is a recovery, showing the remittance to the client and the method of its determination.
(d) A lawyer shall not enter into an arrangement for, charge, or collect:
(1) a contingent fee for representing a defendant in a criminal case; however, a lawyer may charge and collect a contingent fee for representation in a criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceeding if not otherwise prohibited by law; or
(2) a contingent fee in a civil case in which such a fee is prohibited by law.
(e) A division of a fee between lawyers who are not in the same firm may be made only if:
(1) the division is in proportion to the services performed by each lawyer or each lawyer assumes joint responsibility for the representation;
(2) the client agrees to the arrangement, including the share each lawyer will receive, and the agreement is confirmed in writing; and
(3) the total fee is reasonable.
(f) Any lawyer having a dispute with a client regarding a fee for legal services must:
(1) at least 30 days prior to initiating legal proceedings to collect a disputed fee, notify his or her client in writing of the existence of the North Carolina State Bar’s program of fee dispute resolution; the notice shall state that if the client does not file a petition for resolution of the disputed fee with the State Bar within 30 days of the lawyer’s notification, the lawyer may initiate legal proceedings to collect the disputed fee; and
(2) participate in good faith in the fee dispute resolution process if the client submits a proper request. Good faith participation requires the lawyer to respond timely to all requests for information from the fee dispute resolution facilitator.
(g) A lawyer shall not enter into an arrangement for, charge, or collect anything of value for responding to an inquiry by a disciplinary authority regarding allegations of professional misconduct by the lawyer, for responding to a Client Security Fund claim alleging wrongful conduct by the lawyer, or for responding to and participating in the resolution of a petition for resolution of a disputed fee filed against the lawyer.
SOURCE: Fees | North Carolina State Bar (ncbar.gov)
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